“Introducing the Concordant Literal New Testament” (Part 1 & Part 2)
A. E. Knoch devoted a lifetime to the development of a concordant (i.e., harmonious and practically consistent) translation of the Scriptures, one that was as accurate and literal as the constraints of idiom and good diction would permit. The Concordant Version employs a method of translation that takes into account the superhuman perfection of the scriptural writings, even to the minutest detail (Matt.5:18). Though the Version includes many technical features, ones which can be of great value to the advanced student, its greatest benefit accrues even to the ordinary reader whenever it is simply read, carefully and thoughtfully, whether in devotional reading or study.
“Scripture Translation Principles”
Scripture translation principles are a matter of great importance to us all, for only as sound principles of translation are followed can an accurate translation be made. It is most unwise to find assurance in the consensus of popular opinion, especially in an era of apostasy. To “translate,” is to express in another language. To the degree that, in our version, we have conveyed or reflected the vocabulary terms and grammatical forms of the original writing within the corresponding document in the receptor language, we have made a translation. The translators of the Concordant Version have endeavored to translate in such a way so as to provide a uniform and accurate, substantially literal work.
“Proponents for a Literal Translation of the New Testament”
The Concordant Version and Concordant Method are tested against standards proposed by recognized scholars in the field of translation. The author asserts, “Our literal equivalents and controlled idioms are ... serious efforts to guard against bias, to avoid religious cant or jargon, and to have respect for the two cultural worlds in which the reader and the translator are involved. Any Version should reproduce the Original, not reflect the religious milieu of the translator. The reader has the right to know what God says, exactly, accurately, literally.”
“What is a Version?”
The main object of this discussion is to help our friends to see what a version really is, and how, in many minute particulars, it is forced to differ from the original. These divergences cannot all be removed. The problem is not merely to reduce their number, but to eliminate those which affect the sense adversely, leaving those which affect the sense the least. A version, then, is a matter of judgment, rather than exactitude. In this, it is in contrast to a sublinear, in which the order of the words, their form, and their composition are kept as closely as possible to the Greek. This should be retained in a version only to a degree compatible with intelligible, fluent English.
“How We Got Our Bible”, Bible Timeline, (Part 1 & Part 2)
To trace the story of the Sacred Scriptures from the days when the first inspired autographs were made by godly men, divinely chosen for the work, down through the stormy vicissitudes of the centuries, to this era in which we enjoy them in the English language printed and bound in handy book form, is a story without a parallel in the whole range of sacred or secular history. In the scope of this article, we purpose to deal with versions and translations. Through the many streams—Hebrew, Chaldee, Greek, Syriac, Latin, AngloSaxon—the Sacred Word has flowed increasingly onward. Yet let it be remembered that God inspired the original documents of the Scriptures, but He did not inspire versions made of them by men.
“The Sacred Scrolls of the Scriptures” (twelve chapters)
“God has given titles to His books; He has put plain directions on His letters: but the addresses on His epistles are unheeded; the inspired names on the outside of the scrolls have been changed to others of human invention. Solid progress cannot be made in the apprehension of God's revelation unless we first restore His mutilated superscriptions and take heartfelt heed of the plain instructions which precede each epistle.” In an attempt to “correctly partition the word of Truth,” this study seeks to answer the questions, “to whom,” “about whom,” and “for whom” each of the Sacred Scrolls is written.